Simple Falafel

Falafel is not something I grew up eating, but at some point a few years back, hubby must have decided to order some and I discovered how delicious it is.  I have had it a few times since, but it never occurred to me to make it at home.  That is, until I signed the munchkin up for a cooking class this spring which had a different country theme each week.  When it came time to learn about Israel, the food of the week was falafel, served with hummus and pita bread.  The recipe had to be easy and quick in order for 2 year olds to be able to make and eat it within the 45 minute class time, and the result was delicious!  Well, the munchkin really was only interested in the pita bread, but I didn't mind finishing off her portion :).  When I got home I did a quick internet search and found a recipe that sounded just like what we made in class.

I ended up making a few changes.  The biggest was that I'm really not up for deep frying at home, so I pan fried my falafels instead.  I also left out the garlic and used dried parsley instead of fresh.  Happily, my home version was just as good as the ones from class.  The only problem is it's a little tricky to keep them from falling apart when not deep frying, but I'm totally willing to overlook that for a healthy non-meat based meal!

Simple Falafel
adapted from mideastfood.about.com

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, cut into chunks

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon coriander

3/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons flour

oil for frying (canola or vegetable)

Combine all ingredients (except oil) in a food processor to create a thick paste.  Preheat a large (non-stick) pan over medium heat.  Add enough oil to just barely cover the bottom of the pan.  When the oil is hot, drop 2 tablespoon balls of the mixture into the pan and flatten slightly (I did this with a large cookie scoop).  Don't overcrowd the pan.  Gently flip when the first side is brown and crispy, approximately 5 minutes, and cook another 5 minutes on the other side.  Repeat additional batches with remaining mixture as needed.

Serve with pita, hummus, salad, yogurt/lemon/tahini sauce, or eat on their own.

Makes approximately 20 falafel patties.

Edamame Hummus and Spiced Pita Chips

I love to entertain, but at some point I got into a rut where every time I had people over and needed snacks and/or appetizers, hummus with veggies and pita chips from a bag appeared on the table.  Yummy, but boring.  So a couple of years ago when I volunteered to bring munchies to a potluck lunch, I decided I was going to find something interesting AND healthy to bring.  I took a risk with two Ellie Krieger recipes and got the most amazing feedback - the group seemed genuinely impressed.  The best part was, not only was this recipe healthy, but it was also incredibly easy to make - the hardest part was cooking the edamame in the microwave!  

This past weekend I was having a few friends over, so I decided to dig up the hummus recipe and found that it is no longer on the Food Network website!  Ack!  Fortunately another blogger out there had it posted on her site, and now I'll share it with you :)  I didn't make the chips this time around, but I'm including that recipe below as well, just in case it disappears one day too!  I highly recommend this winning combination when you're entertaining or just as a healthy snack/lunch to have around for yourself - it's really that easy!

Edamame Hummus
adapted from Food Network, found reposted here

2 cups (1 10 ounce bag) shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1 cup silken tofu, briefly drained of excess liquid
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1-2 cloves garlic (original recipe calls for 3 cloves, but this was WAY to overpowering for me!  I used 1 this time around and it tasted great; you could also try roasting 3 cloves for a more mellow garlic flavor)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice, plus more, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, plus more, for garnish
Add all ingredients to a food processor and process for 2-3 minutes, until smooth.  Adjust seasonings (salt, cumin, lemon juice) as needed.  Garnish with extra edamame and/or cumin if desired.

 
Spiced Pita Chips
adapted from Food Network
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 whole-wheat pitas, cut into 1/8's

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine olive oil and all spices in a large bowl. Add pita wedges and toss to coat, Spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet (I have allowed for some overlapping and they still worked) and bake for about 15 minutes, tossing once, or until pita is brown and crisp. Cool completely before serving (chips will crisp up more as they cool).

Spinach Ricotta Dumplings

One of the earliest recipes I found on Weelicious was for "Spinach Gnocch-wee", which, aside from having such a cute name, looked irresistably adorable in the picture.  I read the recipe and filed it away until my recent effort to compile links to all of the recipes I want to try, when I came across it again.  And now, with my ongoing attempts to get more vegetables and dairy into the munchkin, I realized that this recipe could be perfect.

So I set out to give them a try and found the mixture (dough?  batter?) came together really easily - you really can't beat instructions to throw all of the ingredients into the food processor.  But when it came time to make those perfect little balls I was inspired by, well, I have absolutely no idea how she did it.  I tried flouring my hands, but they were so sticky there was no way I was going to be able to make them round!  Enter plan B - take a cookie scoop (most useful kitchen tool ever!) and dump them directly into the boiling water to cook.

And the result?  Delicious - even the munchkin gobbled them up! - but not nearly as pretty as the ones in the picture.  Oh, well...not everything needs to be perfect!  Also, another change I made was to the name...I couldn't really figure out how these related to gnocchi (the shape maybe?  or soft texture?), so I decided to just call them dumplings.  But whatever you call them, these are definitely a keeper in my house!

See?  Not the most elegant, but they sure tasted good!

Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
adapted from Weelicious

10 oz box frozen chopped spinach
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
2/3 cup romano cheese, plus extra for serving
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp flour

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Defrost the frozen spinach (I did this in the microwave).  Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach by dumping it in a clean kitchen towel, making a pouch, and twisting until you can't get any more liquid out (don't worry, the green comes out in the wash!).

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth and thoroughly combined

Using a cookie scoop (you could probably also use 2 spoons), take approximately 1-2 teaspoons at a time and dump directly into the boiling water.  Do not overcrowd the pot - you'll probably need to do 2-3 batches.  Cook the dumplings for about 5 minutes (the last ones in probably cooked a little less than that).  Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.  They will be very soft when they first come out but firm up a bit as they cool.

Serve sprinkled with additional romano cheese.

Makes approximately 6 servings

Thanksgiving!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at my brother's house in NJ.  My sister-in-law and her mother are fabulous cooks, and they took care of most of the main meal, which left me in charge of hors d'oeuvres along with one other guest.  My goal was to come up with a few items that were unique and seasonal, but could be completely prepared in advance so that I did not have to get in the way in the kitchen once we got there.  My resulting offerings were cheese and crackers, pumpkin butter served with puff pastry, and curried pumpkin seeds.  My definite favorite from this bunch was the pumpkin seeds - they were surprisingly delicious without a whole lot of effort.  The only problem is that almost a week later my apartment still has a faint curry aroma!

We decided to stay over Thanksgiving night so that we could put the baby to sleep and not have to transfer her, which meant we'd be there for breakfast in the morning.  I thought it would be nice to bring some healthy muffins to have after gorging ourselves the previous night.  I found this recipe for pumpkin bran muffins, which got mixed reviews from my family.  I thought the texture was great (as far as healthy bran muffins go), but unfortunately I went a little light on the spices because it sounded like so much, but that turned out to be a mistake.  The muffins smelled great, but were definitely missing some flavor.  I will have to try again another time!

Here are all of the recipes:

Pumpkin Butter
adapted from Weelicious

2 Cups Pureed Pumpkin or 1 15oz Can Pumpkin Puree
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Honey (I substituted all Agave Nectar to make it baby friendly)
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Cool and serve.

Makes 2 cups


Curried Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Epicurious

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used lemon because I bought them for the Pumpkin Butter)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I cut this in half - I am very sensitive to spice and they were plenty hot with less pepper!)
12 ounces hulled pumpkin seeds (about 2 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment; spray with nonstick spray. Whisk egg white, lime (or lemon) juice, and oil in large bowl. Add next 4 ingredients; whisk. Add pumpkin seeds; toss. Transfer to baking sheet, spreading evenly. Bake until toasted and fragrant, stirring often, about 24 minutes. Cool on sheet. Do ahead: Can be made 5 days ahead. Store toasted seeds airtight at room temperature.

Makes 2 1/2 cups


Moist Pumpkin Bran Muffins
adapted from GreenLiteBites

1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp all spice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 15oz can of pumpkin
¼ cup molasses
2 tbsp honey (or agave)
2 eggs (or 1 egg whole egg and 2 whites)
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup plain yogurt (any fat level you have!)
¾ cup Wheat Bran
Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the pumpkin, molasses, honey, egg, egg whites, applesauce and yogurt. Beat until all ingredients are mixed well.

Pour the flour mixture and wheat bran into the pumpkin mixture. Combine until just moistened. Don’t over mix!

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly distribute the batter in the cups. Sprinkle with a bit of oats (or pumpkin seeds) and bake for about 20 minutes for regular, 15 minutes for mini-muffins.

Makes 12 regular or 24 mini-muffins